Aussie before and/or After pics

[TaNgLe 0]

Cam

Wow.. u r amazing! You have done such a great job and look just beautiful and i cant believe it only took you the 12 mths.I wish i were 25 again cos i seriously doubt my body would be capable of bouncing back that well ! lol

I'll be happy with any sort of bouncing back at the moment tho

Jacqui you look wonderful too girl. Amazing accomplishments.. well done. Great inspirations

[dionnem 0]

Cam,

OMG!!!! You have done so well, you are my height and I am just dumbstruck at your acheivements. What do you weigh now and how much did you lose if you don't ,mind me asking your success is phenomenal.

[cammy 0]

dionnem - I was banded at 116.4kg (lost weight before banding between first pic 6 months before banding and 2nd pic which was day before banding) - the weight I like best and can maintain easiest is 56-60 (i'm 60 in that last pic I think) but after food poisoning I hit a low of 51 which is the most disgusting thing (still not as thin as most actresses/models but just grosse for a real person) - thin like that is not pretty or healthy - it took eating a hell of a load of junk and liquid calories (milk milk milk) as well as good nutritious foods (meat & veg) the last month to try and put back on the weight. I have the most amazing metabolism now from working out alot and doing a lot of weight training/muscle building which is what increases your metabolism (metabolism is just how much energy you need to move around; muscle requires more energy than fat just to 'exist' so it's better to have more muscle cause then you can eat more without getting fat - it's also the reason heavier people lose weight faster because just to move or exist they burn so many more calories - and why they say the last few kilos are hardest to lose because to lose them you have to cut your claories back even further or beef up the exericse, both of which by the time your within a few kilos of your goal you can't be bothered doing; your burnt out on losing weight and just so over it already - if you can do it in a year do it becuase motivation really dwindles with each passing year).

There are 2 kinds of people - the people who wait for the band to give them enough restriction to lose weight and just keep eating like pre op until that point; and the people that want to lose weight and get healthy so bad they will just start doing the right thing from the get go and hope that when their motivation dwindles the band will be tightened enough by then to be their saftey net and help them through the hard times. I wanted my band for maintence and knew it wasn't going to do all the work... you have to meet it half way.

To become MO we all had shot metabolisms or just way outate what we needed to survive.... age is really irrelevant once you have a stretch mark that bit of skin is gone beyond the ability of bouncing back no matter if your 10 or 90 - it's genetics - stretch mark means the elastiscity is gone (hence the need for a Tummy Tuck and the ripples of skin on my butt! I envy those without stretch marks; personally i'm covered in them. So thankful for play boy for making swim suits to cover up our bits we dont like to show and show off the bits we do want to... I think they are the only brand that really cater to people that have scars or bits to hide and still leave you looking hot.

I need to get a photo of my arms - my body didn't bounce back as well as it looks... was just showing that some parts (like legs) tend to do better than other parts (like bellys). I have bat wings covered in stretch marks :mad: I dress to cover them and try to not let them get me down too much. Nobody sees the scarey bits except my man and well; he's seen a lot scarier since he saw me at my biggest! He loves me scars and all.

I didn't follow the docs plan or the dieticians plan because, well, it was confusing as, they both contradicted each other and the dietician would even contradict herself and I just wanted to succeed.... so instead I did what the most successful people I knew did. What made sence scientifically.... I mean to 'normal' people watching their calories is inate, they dont need to count them because their bodies 'tell' them and they maintain balance (in essence they count calories too just subconscioulsy and without the help of a program or book).... my body became obese becaues I didn't have that - i was just plain hungry all the time no matter how much I ate. Counting my calories and knowing i could eat whatever I desired but it could only add up to that many calories a day, well that really worked for me. Because it didnt' have the restrictions of a diet say 'no' can't have this or that food... it just capped how much food I could have.... the volume was up to me because low density foods are lots of volume for little calories and high density foods (like chocolate) you only get to have a little bit of for a lot of catories... so trading off things like a choclate bar and a ceaser salad with the low fat dressing insead of a hot meal of Pasta that would add up to the same calories.. you know? You can eat a lot of grilled chicken breast ceaser salad if your light on the dressing and grated parm cheese you get a lot of for not so many calories v's how you eat other types of cheeses. I'd rather have my sugar fix with a salad and some meat than a small bowl of very high calorie for what you get Pasta. I still have a small bowl of pesto pasta on occasion but i try to savour every moutful cause it's certinally very very high calorie... I used to eat a lot of pasta pre-banding without realising it was making me fatter and fatter... because a dietian told me it was healthy - it might be healthy in small quantites but not in the size bowls I was eating 2nds and 3rds of.

There were only a handful of days during my weight loss where I didn't eat chocolate. I'm not a health food freak but my body is in good health according to the blood tests and physical I get every 6 months post banding.

You just have to be determined from the outset no matter which approach to losing you take... be determined and you will succeed. I re-lapsed; i did stuff I shouldn't have (like ate a weeks worth of calories in one night of cheese cake & pav); but I bounced back - didn't lose weight those weeks but I worked out extra hard afterwards to make sure i didn't gain gain gain. Heck I relapsed so much those first few months i'm suprised i ever got under 90 lol - it was the exercise I think that kept my head on my shoulders for the most part and the scales moving in the right direction. Moderation is the key - the reason i relapsed at the start so often was because i'd tell myself (because other people would constantly comment on what i shoudl o rshouldn't be eating) "no you shouldn't have that" instead of allowing myself a little piece - once i came to terms with eating absolutley anything i wanted just making sure it added up I was on the downhill rollercoaster to skinnyville.

Those of you who went to the xmas dinner thing know how much food I can put away - scarey isn't it? I don't have a tight band but it works for me because I can eat a lot more now that I have built a fast metabolism... and the thinner you are the MORE food they serve you (wierd, eh?). I swear they gave me the biggest piece of lemon meriangue pie i've seen in my entire life.... horrifingly I ate the whole thing (sans crust; no un necessary fat goes in my body).

I'm glad my pics helped motivate you guys - you can all do it!! I'll have to add a current pic to that time line soon. Remeber I was never the skinny girl at school - i was always much bigger than my peers, i'm just like the majority of you. We can all do it

[dionnem 0]

Hi cam ,

thanks for telling your story, you certainly have become educated during your process, its good to hear your story as I like you think I will cope better being able to make smart food choices like Meridith said without being a food control freak. I don't want my whole life to be a diet a want I want my whole life to be about healthy eating in any situation.

Can't wait to see your new pic and everyone elses, I am getting my B4 shot done over the next couple of days and will attempt to put it on.

[She Smiles 2]

Sharyn you look great!!

[susannah 2]

Hi, sharyn you look terrific!:biggrin1: Well done. Susannah

[dionnem 0]

Hi Sharyn,

Good on you , you look great. What a great thread this is very inspiring.

[bronnie70 0]

Well... its day 2 of Optifast and i was just about to cheat. Then i go on here... looked at all the pics and that put a holt on my 'pig out'. Thanks and well done to you all. Cant wait to join you.

[blytheswideshut 0]

I am speechless about your pics. Truly in awe of your achievement and change!

My body type is similar in shape and distribution to yours...so your pics are very inspirational for me.

Thanks for posting them!

:clap2:

[dionnem 0]

Hi Chickie,

Wow you look great!!!!

[Chickie 15]

Thank you both. I am pretty happy with the way I look now.

[dionnem 0]

Thank you both. I am pretty happy with the way I look now.

I can see why!!!! What great inspiration:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

[blytheswideshut 0]

You are looking fantastic! Such an inspiration.

[susannah 2]

Hey Meredith, Wow! You look terrific. All the blood, sweat and tears at the gym are really paying off. When I get under a 100 kgs I reckon I will post my full length pic also.

Susannah

[Mickey_1969 0]

Hi everyone. I'm up in Queensland and was banded on 21st of March 2007. I am totally in awe of the people on here that have shared their stories. I started this journey at 136.2kg and as of day 9 post op, 128.4kg. I'm so excited about starting my no doubt slow trip back to health. This is my first time using a site like this so not sure how to go about the posting and stuff but I'm sure will blunder through it. I look forward to adding my own pictures as I progress. Take care. Lisa